Writing Workshop
Milwaukee Lutheran High School
Mr. Hantak
MLHS Mission Statement: Milwaukee Lutheran is a premier high school dedicated to
SHARING JESUS and DEVELOPING FUTURE LEADERS by providing relevant, rigorous
academics and life preparation from a Christian worldview.
Course Description: The emphasis in this course is writing, and students will write weekly for
various purposes. Students will recognize writing as an extension of thinking and shaping ideas.
The process of writing – from prewriting to publishing – will be emphasized to improve the
students’ writing abilities. A weekly review of a grammatical or usage guideline will be given.
This course is recommended for all college-bound students.
Course Objectives: As your teacher, my role is to help you achieve the goals set for the class.
Here is what you can expect from me this year:
1. I will help you grow in your relationship with Jesus.
 Begin class with prayer and/or devotions.
 Apply Biblical concepts to class discussions, activities, and writing assignments.
 “Open-Door” Policy – Being a resource for your faith life is the most important
part of my job. Feel free to ask me your questions when I am available!
2. I will help you become better students.
 Learn specific strategies for organizing written information.
 Learn how to format work according to assignment guidelines.
 Enforce deadlines and teach how to prepare for them.
3. I will help you develop your reading skills.
 Explore theme, plot, and literary devices as we read through American literature.
 Demonstrate reading comprehension through graded exercises and quizzes.
 Read independent novels to become “lifelong readers.”
4. I will help you develop your writing skills.
 Internalize and perfect the writing process (Prewrite-Draft-Edit-Publish).
 Practice reflective writing through frequent journaling assignments.
 Demonstrate skills through expository, persuasive, analytical, and creative essays.
5. I will help you develop your speaking and listening skills.
 Learn how to “bridge the gap” between spoken and written ideas.
 Demonstrate good speaking and listening skills in classroom discussions.
 Demonstrate formal speech skills in final multimedia presentation.
6. I will help you grow in your knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.
 Learn vocabulary strategies to strengthen vocabulary in writing.
 Review grammar concepts weekly to improve grammar in writing.
Writing Workshop
Milwaukee Lutheran High School
Mr. Hantak
Expectations:
Now that you know what to expect from me, I expect this from you:
1. You will have an attitude of RESPECT in the classroom.
 RESPECT me by participating in class and following school policies.
 RESPECT yourself by treating your education seriously.
 RESPECT others in everything you do and say.
2. You will complete all of your classwork ON TIME.
 Graded assignments drop to a 75% (C) for the first day they are late. After that,
they lose an additional 10% per day. Be sure to meet deadlines!
 If you have an excused absence, you will have the same amount of days you were
absent to get in any missed homework assignments before late points will be
taken off.
3. You will be HONEST with your work. This means two things…
 NO CHEATING – cheating on any assignment (homework, quiz, test, etc.) will
result in a 0 for that assignment.
 NO PLAGIARISM – if you use another person’s work in an essay or speech, give
credit where it is due. We will cover this in depth this year.
4. You will come to class PREPARED. Here is what you will need in class every day:
 MLHS student planner
 3-ring binder with 5 dividers for handouts and assignments
 Spiral notebook (at least 100 sheets)
 Blue or black pen or pencil
 Yourself! Avoid being tardy by being in your seat when the bell rings and staying
awake in class!
Workshop Points: For each day in class, you are given 2 free points, and I add them up every
week for a total of 10. Sweet deal! Your job is not to lose these points. For any violation of
these expectations, I will take away one or both of your workshop points for the day.
Consistently losing workshop points will harm your grade in the class, so protect them!
By filling out the lines below, you are indicating that you understand and agree to follow the
expectations above:
Print Name:
________________________________
Signature:
________________________________
Date:
________________________________
Writing Workshop
Milwaukee Lutheran High School
Mr. Hantak
Semester Calendar: (NOTE: Every week also has journaling, a vocab focus, and grammar)
Week 1 (Aug 24-28)
Course Introduction, The Writing Process
Week 2 (Aug 31-Sept 4)
Set Up Portfolios, Prewriting Strategies
Week 3 (Sept 7-11)
Expository Writing – College Application Essay
Week 4 (Sept 14-18)
Expository Writing – College Application Essay Due
Week 5 (Sept 21-25)
Research Writing, Drafting Strategies
Week 6 (Sept 28-Oct 2)
Research Writing – Informational Report
Week 7 (Oct 5-9)
Research Writing – Informational Report
Week 8 (Oct 12-16)
Research Writing – Informational Report Due
Week 9 (Oct 19-23)
Persuasive Writing, Revising Strategies
Week 10 (Oct 26-30)
Week 11 (Nov 2-6)
Week 12 (Nov 9-13)
Week 13 (Nov 16-20)
Week 14 (Nov 23-27)
Week 15 (Nov 30-Dec 4)
Week 16 (Dec 7-11)
Week 17 (Dec 14-18)
Persuasive Writing – Research Essay
Persuasive Writing – Research Essay
Persuasive Writing – Research Essay Due
Analytical Writing, Proofreading Strategies
Analytical Writing – Literary Analysis
Analytical Writing – Literary Analysis Due
Using Writing for Presentation, Publishing Strategies
Multimedia Narrative Project
Week 18 (Jan 4-8)
Week 19 (Jan 11-15)
Multimedia Narrative Project
Multimedia Narrative Presentation
Grading Scale:
It is as follows:
A+
A
AB+
B
B-
(100-98%)
(97-94%)
(93-90%)
(89-88%)
(87-84%)
(83-80%)
For all of the work in this class, I will use the 90-80-70-60 grading scale.
C+
C
CD+
D
DF
(79-78%)
(77-74%)
(73-70%)
(69-68%)
(67-64%)
(63-60%)
(59% and below)
Extra Credit:
The only way to earn extra credit is to complete independent reading
books. For every 6-week grading period, you can earn 10 points for the first book you complete
and 2 points for each additional book you read. To prove that you have actually read, you’ll
need to fill out a bookmark form for each book you read. You can earn A TON of extra credit
this way, so start reading today!
Writing Workshop
Milwaukee Lutheran High School
Mr. Hantak
Class Webpage/Social Media:
 The main class webpage is https://www.facebook.com/mrhmlhs
o A public Facebook page where updates, reminders, and useful links will be posted.
o This is a shared resource, meaning information for all the classes I teach can be
posted here.
o Students will be allowed to post classroom-related questions and comments.
 Classroom photos and videos will be posted on Instagram by Mr. Hantak via the account
@mrhantak.
o This media source is also linked to the classroom Facebook page.
Below is a disclaimer stating that I will NOT use Facebook or Instagram to look into your
personal lives. As much as I enjoy teaching you, privacy is a right that we all share.
DISCLAIMER:
“I, Mr. Hantak, will not “friend” students on Facebook or “follow” students on Instagram. These
resources are strictly for posting classroom information outside of school-day hours, NOT for
sharing personal information.
Any interactions over the Internet will be handled in a professional manner. NO inappropriate
interactions will be tolerated or initiated. If any such interaction is initiated by a student that
student will be reported to the proper school authority for discipline.”
Mr. Hantak
English Teacher & Soccer Coach
Milwaukee Lutheran High School
bhantak@milwaukeelutheranhs.org